Page 181 - History of The Quranic Text | Kalamullah.Com

CAUSES OF VARIANT READINGS 161

a. '~im bin Abl an-Najud, one of the most prominent students of as-
Sulami, who in turn was 'All's most respected student, relates that
'All read this verse exactly as given in the 'Uthmani Mushaf
b. 'All ascended to the caliphate after 'Uthman's assassination. Had he
believed that his predecessor was guilty of omitting certain words,
surely it was his obligation to rectify the error. Else he would have
been accused of betraying his faith.
c. 'Uthman's effortsenjoyed the backing consensus of the entire Muslim
community; 'All himself said that no one voiced any objections, and
were he displeased he would surely have been vociferous.F
This scene alone, of the Prophet's Companions in their thousands eyeing
the bonfire as old Qur'anic fragments were tossed in, isa powerful testimony
that they allassented to the purity of the Mushaf''s text. No additions, sub-
tractions, or corruptions. Anyone who rejects this view and brings forth
something new, claiming it as a pre-Tlthmanic text which was favoured
by this or that Companion, isslandering the very faith of these Companions.
Even Ibn Abl Dawitd, author of al-M~aJ;ifand the purveyor of many variant
qirtzJats which clash with the 'Uthmani text, categorically denies their value
as Qur'an. He says,«We do not submit that anyone should recite the Qur'an
except what is in 'Uthman's Mushaf If anyone recites in his prayer against
this Mushaf I will order him to re-do his prayer."33
The formative stages of the OT and NT occurred in epochs of great
volatility, the political realities throwing the two texts into complete disarray.
In seeking to replicate these vices in the Qur'anic text, Western scholars
view all Muslim evidence with a jaundiced eye whilst the OT and NT are
given the benefit of the doubt whenever possible" While misgivings on
the authenticity of his variant material linger inJeffery's mind, he never-
theless fills his book with them.

Some of the variants seem linguistically impossible... Some give one
the impression of being the inventions of later philologers... The great
majority, however, merit consideration as genuine survivals from the pre-
'Uthmanic stage of the text, though only after they have passed the
most searching criticism of modern scholarship... shall we be free to
use them in the attempted reconstruction of the history of the text. 35

32 See this work p. 94.
33 Ibn Abi Dawud, al-M~ii~if,pp. 53-54.
34 Recently I happened to re-read the coverjacket ofJuynboll's work, Muslim Tradition,
whose cover picture is taken from the oldest dated Arabic manuscript on record written
on paper. The note reads (emphasis added): "This manuscript was allegedly copied in
252 A.H./866 A.D." How many times can we expect to seesuch discretion in their dealings
with the OT, NT and other literature?
35 A. Jeffery, Materials, Preface, p. x. Emphasis added.